Everyone knows there’s no coming back from the “infinite dog dare” schoolyard taunt—once it’s said, whoever it was aimed at is in for an existential review of their morals, danger comprehension, and whether their tongue actually will stick to that frozen flagpole. Someone, perhaps Tesla Motors’ marketing folks, levied a similar reproach to CEO Elon Musk, because he has just introduced some next-level warranty news for Model S owners that’s sure to leave the company’s warranty budget with a sore tongue.

As announced by Musk himself, henceforth the same eight-year, infinite-mile—that’s “unlimited” in non-headline-grabbing-speak—warranty carried by the cars’ batteries now applies to the electric drive unit. (The bumper-to-bumper warranty remains four years, 50,000 miles.) That the new warranty coverage also applies retroactively to all Model S cars sold to date further sticks it to the warranty department. In his announcement, Musk tacitly admits that the move will be a costly one that likely won’t please investors, at least in the short term. To smooth things over, the CEO placed his prototypical rosy Silicon Valley touch on the matter, stating: “by doing the right thing for Tesla vehicle owners at this early stage of our company, I am confident that it will work out well in the long term.”

So, it’s sure to be a winning marketing feat, even if it dulls Tesla’s bottom line temporarily. It also highlights Tesla Motors’ growing confidence, which is sure to grow stronger still with the imminent release of the Model X crossover and the company’s new compact sedan.